Status: 01.01.2021 9:17 p.m.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Corona vaccinations are already running in many countries – not in the Netherlands. Despite the large supplies, it should not start for a week. The hospitals are sounding the alarm.
In the Netherlands, criticism of the corona vaccination strategy is increasing. Although around 175,000 vaccine doses from the manufacturers Pfizer and Biontech are already stored in a special warehouse in the east of the country, the government does not intend to vaccinate the first people until January 8 and start nationwide on January 18. This makes the Netherlands the last country in the EU to start vaccinating.
Despite the criticism, the government does not want to bring the vaccination campaign forward. This is not possible for logistical reasons. The timetable will not be changed for the time being, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health at the request of the dpa news agency.
The associations for acute medical care had urgently appealed to Health Minister Hugo de Jong to vaccinate nursing staff in hospitals and intensive care units as early as next Monday. This can be dealt with quickly in the hospitals. In addition, the stocks of vaccination doses were sufficient. The minister will not comment on this until the beginning of next week.
Hospitals under great pressure
According to their own statements, hospitals and intensive care units in the Netherlands can hardly withstand the pressure. Medical care is hardly manageable in view of the constantly increasing number of patients and major staff shortages. Army specialists have already been deployed in several clinics in the country.
Today 8,200 new infections were reported in the Netherlands. For comparison: In Germany, with around five times as many inhabitants, the corresponding figure was around 23,000.